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Cathey Nickell

By Margaret Lea   Author Cathey Nickell will be presenting “How to Hustle: Author Visits 101” at our October 5, 2026 chapter meeting. (This hybrid meeting will meet concurrently at 6:30 PM at the Tracy Gee Community Center and also on Zoom.) My email interview with Cathey is below. Check out her website at catheynickell.com .  1) Tell us about your books. My two picture books— Arthur Zarr’s Amazing Art Car and Yazzy’s Amazing Yarn— are all about creativity, outsider art, and thinking outside the box. Both books have a whimsical theme of turning the ordinary into extraordinary! I draw from my experience as a former newspaper reporter and public relations professional to bring an exciting presentation full of personal stories, writing/publishing tips, and “insider information” about my books. Plus an art car! I’ve also completed two middle grade novels—full of humor and heart—that my agent has out on submission. No luck yet, but my fingers and toes are still crossed.  ...
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Katie Mazeika

  By Margaret Lea         Author/Illustrator Katie Mazeika will present The Power of Pivoting: When the Only Way Forward is to Change Direction at our online chapter meeting on Sept. 14, 2026. One career pivot for Katie was going from illustrator to author/illustrator. And in 2020, she pivoted her illustration style by creating a completely new portfolio featuring brighter, dynamic art with more movement.       Katie’s early life also took a scary pivot when, at age three, she was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. Even rarer, the cancer was in her optic nerve and the doctors had to remove one eye to save her life. Thankfully, she is now cancer free.       Her picture book Maybe Just Ask Me, which came out in 2025, is based on the time when she started first grade after a six-month hospitalization. She wrote this story to show others that, “Disability is not a bad word.” Surprisin...
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Cathy Berner from Blue Willow Bookshop

  By Margaret Lea    Cathy Berner, the event coordinator/kids' book specialist from Blue Willow Bookshop, will be speaking at our chapter meeting August 3, 2026 at 6:30 PM at the Tracy Gee Community Center, and also on Zoom. She will present "A Bookseller's Look at the Kids' Book World." Below is my email interview with Cathy.  Also, check out bluewillowbookshop.com, or stop by the shop at 14532 Memorial Dr., Houston, 77079.  1) What’s the best thing about working at a bookshop? The best things about working at Blue Willow are discovery and connection. Discovering new books and authors and connecting those books and authors with readers fills my cup. 2) What's the worst thing about working at a bookshop? All the unglamorous details of retail: fixing the toilet handle, vacuuming, dealing with technology and stressing about the temperature at an event when it's warm outside.  3) How do you decide which books to stock, and do you stock books by self-published...
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Adria Goetz

By Margaret Lea    Agent Adria Goetz from KT Literary will be presenting “Navigating the Agent/Author Relationship at our virtual chapter meeting on July 6, 2026. Below is my email interview with Adria.  1) How and when did you get into agenting?  My first exposure to agenting was when I got an internship with a local literary agency when I was 19. At the time, I thought that I wanted to be an editor, but applied to the internship because I thought it would still be valuable to experience the industry from the agent’s side of things. It was supposed to be a quick little blip on my resume. But when I showed up to the office on the first day and there was an auction going, I was hooked. I knew right away that it was the path for me, and I’ve never looked back. I interned at that agency for the rest of my college years, and then began agenting in 2016.  2) What genres do you represent?   I represent picture books, middle grade, adult fiction, and graphi...
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Tonya Ellis

By Margaret Lea Tonya Ellis, one of our own Houston chapter members, is both self-published and traditionally published in many KidLit genres. Read all about her journey in the email interview below.  1) Tell us about your writing journey. For example: When did you start seriously pursuing writing? What most helped you develop your craft? What genres do you write? I've always loved reading books and writing, and I thought about pursuing writing as a career after I won a young author's competition in the fifth grade. Back then, I wasn't sure how I'd make a living writing books, so I decided to become a journalist. After college, I got a job as a business reporter at a newspaper. When my family moved to Houston, I wrote freelance articles about local celebrities for Sugar Land, Cy-Fair and Katy Magazines for ten years. I became interested in writing for children while sharing my childhood favorites with my own kids. My youngest son didn't relate to many of the ...
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